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Topic: Stations of the Cross (Read 13513 times)

A Roman Catholic Church not far from my home recently set up an outdoor "Stations of the Cross" using Byzantine-style icons. I drive past it all the time, and it really is quite lovely looking, as it's rather serene in a garden setting.

This got me wondering, how are the stations of the cross "used" during Catholic worship? I know that they are observed during the Good Friday service, but as I've never attended a Catholic Good Friday service, I was wondering if one of our Catholic friends could enlighten me.

Also, when did this practice come into play? And, just out of further curiosity, does anyone know why this is not used in the East?

I'm just asking out of curiosity, as these kinds of things interest me.

Thanks for your help!

Maureen

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"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jer 29:11

"For, by its immensity, the divine substance surpasses every form that our intellect reaches. Thus we are unable to apprehend it by knowing what it is. Yet we are able to have some knowledge of it by knowing what it is not." - St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa contra gentiles, I, 14.

A Roman Catholic Church not far from my home recently set up an outdoor "Stations of the Cross" using Byzantine-style icons. I drive past it all the time, and it really is quite lovely looking, as it's rather serene in a garden setting.

I don't understand the Roman Catholics' recent desire to try and co-opt Orthodox iconography and pass it off as their own. The West certainly didn't maintain the properly theology behind icons, so it seems a bit dishonest to now freely take them from the Orthodox who have so faithfully preserved them. Now, I'm not saying that it's not a good thing that they're moving in a more Orthodox direction in some respects, but generally it seems as though they are just added to the decorations around the church rather than replacing the unorthodox iconography and statuary.

As an aside, do some Roman Catholics kneel and prostrate before statuary the way that the Orthodox do before icons? I grew up Roman Catholic but I never say anything like that, as my parish had a very post-Vatican II Protestantized Mass.

As an aside, do some Roman Catholics kneel and prostrate before statuary the way that the Orthodox do before icons? I grew up Roman Catholic but I never say anything like that, as my parish had a very post-Vatican II Protestantized Mass.

I've seen people cross themselves, kneel before, kiss their fingertips then touch a statue, etc. at Catholic parishes. Prostrate, no. Prostrating in the West is different than in the East, and usually only seen during ordination.

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As a result of a thousand million years of evolution, the universe is becoming conscious of itself, able to understand something of its past history and its possible future.-- Sir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS

And, just out of further curiosity, does anyone know why this is not used in the East?

Rosehip, part of the answer is its post-schism origin, where it made the adoption of such a devotion far less likely among the Orthodox. Another possibility could well be that the Orthodox never saw the need for adopting such a devotion. Two reasons come to mind:

1. The hymnody established for the Holy Week services, particularly from Holy Thursday onwards (the Holy Thursday evening service is actually the Matins of Great Friday) is so stuffed full of scripture, hymns and prayers which cover the period of Christ's Mystical Supper, betrayal, trial, corporal punishment, crucifixion, death, and entombment, that it would be difficult to justify adding to it. The Twelve Passion Gospels alone could cover this, but there are so many other treasures in the hymnody, it's overwhelming.

2. A major difference between western and Orthodox devotion is that there is a more even balance between the human and divine Christ. For instance, RC statues and paintings abound which are quite graphic in their portrayal of the physical suffering of the Lord at His passion. By contrast, Orthodox icons of the Crucifixion show His complete willingness in giving Himself up for the salvation of mankind, without the gory details. Similarly, the Orthodox hymnody for Holy Thursday and Great Friday does not ignore His physical suffering, but it is kept in a more balanced perspective. The hope and joy of the Resurrection is, even at this most bleak and dark time, is still there. Two of the most moving and evocative pieces of hymnody from these services are:

Antiphon 15 of the Matins of Great Friday:

Today hangs upon the Tree He who hung the earth upon the waters.Today hangs upon the Tree He who hung the earth upon the waters.Today hangs upon the Tree He who hung the earth upon the waters.He is arrayed in a crown of thorns, who is King of the Angels.He is wrapped in the purpleof mockery, who wraps the heavens in clouds.He receives blows on the face, who freed Adam in the Jordan.He is transfixed with nails, who is the Bridegroom of the Church .He is pierced by a lance, who is the Son of the Virgin.We worship Your Passion, O Christ.We worship Your Passion, O Christ.We worship Your Passion, O Christ.Show us also Your glorious Resurrection.

and this excerpt from a longer hymn, which refers to the Mother of God:

O my Son and my God, though I am wounded to the core and torn to the heart as I see You dead, yet confident in Your resurrection, I magnify You.

There is no more evident sign that anyone is a saint and of the number of the elect, than to see him leading a good life and at the same time a prey to desolation, suffering, and trials. - Saint Aloysius Gonzaga

Some seem to forget that it was the West that defended the use of icons during the iconoclastic period. Shouldn't they therefore be permitted to use them?

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There is no more evident sign that anyone is a saint and of the number of the elect, than to see him leading a good life and at the same time a prey to desolation, suffering, and trials. - Saint Aloysius Gonzaga

She hears, upon that water without sound, A voice that cries, “The tomb in Palestine Is not the porch of spirits lingering. It is the grave of Jesus, where he lay.” We live in an old chaos of the sun, Or old dependency of day and night, Or island solitude, unsponsored, free, Of that wide water, inescapable.

The Stations of the Cross originated in pilgrimages to Jerusalem. A desire to reproduce the holy places in other lands seems to have manifested itself at quite an early date. At the monastery of San Stefano at Bologna a group of connected chapels were constructed as early as the fifth century, by St. Petronius, Bishop of Bologna, which was intended to represent the more important shrines of Jerusalem, and in consequence, this monastery became familiarly known as "Hierusalem.”

Spiritual significance:

The object of the Stations is to help the faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage of prayer, through meditating upon the chief scenes of Christ's sufferings and death. It has become one of the most popular devotions for Roman Catholics, as well as featuring in the worship and devotion of other Christian denominations.

Traditional Form:

1 Jesus is condemned to death 2 Jesus is given his cross 3 Jesus falls the first time 4 Jesus meets His Mother 5 Simon of Cyrene carries the cross 6 Veronica wipes the face of Jesus 7 Jesus falls the second time 8 Jesus meets the daughters of Jerusalem 9 Jesus falls the third time 10 Jesus is stripped of His garments 11 Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross 12 Jesus dies on the cross 13 Jesus' body is removed from the cross (Deposition or Lamentation) 14 Jesus is laid in the tomb and covered in incense. Although not traditionally part of the Stations, the Resurrection of Jesus is sometimes included as a fifteenth station

There is no more evident sign that anyone is a saint and of the number of the elect, than to see him leading a good life and at the same time a prey to desolation, suffering, and trials. - Saint Aloysius Gonzaga

Some seem to forget that it was the West that defended the use of icons during the iconoclastic period. Shouldn't they therefore be permitted to use them?

I might be mistaken, however, wasn't the iconoclastic period pre-schism? The West had not yet split off from the Orthodox Church.

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Conquer evil men by your gentle kindness, and make zealous men wonder at your goodness. Put the lover of legality to shame by your compassion. With the afflicted be afflicted in mind. Love all men, but keep distant from all men.—St. Isaac of Syria

I don't understand the Roman Catholics' recent desire to try and co-opt Orthodox iconography and pass it off as their own.

Byzantine icons were considered by many to be the finest in Christendom and they were prized items in the West, before and after the schism. While this doesn't make the icons "their own", there is some precedent for such icons being used in Western churches.

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But it had not been in Tess's power - nor is it in anybody's power - to feel the whole truth of golden opinions while it is possible to profit by them. She - and how many more - might have ironically said to God with Saint Augustine, "Thou hast counselled a better course than thou hast permitted."

As a result of a thousand million years of evolution, the universe is becoming conscious of itself, able to understand something of its past history and its possible future.-- Sir Julian Sorell Huxley FRS

A Roman Catholic Church not far from my home recently set up an outdoor "Stations of the Cross" using Byzantine-style icons. I drive past it all the time, and it really is quite lovely looking, as it's rather serene in a garden setting.

I don't understand the Roman Catholics' recent desire to try and co-opt Orthodox iconography and pass it off as their own. The West certainly didn't maintain the properly theology behind icons, so it seems a bit dishonest to now freely take them from the Orthodox who have so faithfully preserved them. Now, I'm not saying that it's not a good thing that they're moving in a more Orthodox direction in some respects, but generally it seems as though they are just added to the decorations around the church rather than replacing the unorthodox iconography and statuary.

As an aside, do some Roman Catholics kneel and prostrate before statuary the way that the Orthodox do before icons? I grew up Roman Catholic but I never say anything like that, as my parish had a very post-Vatican II Protestantized Mass.

There's actually a long standing history of iconography in the West. They even have some of the original icons written by the hand of St. Luke.

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"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jer 29:11

Orthodox do have their own tradition of the Stations of the Cross called Passia. It is most likely a devotion influenced by RCs but it is Orthodox in ethos.

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Passia

The last Orthodox service to arise was Passia (Greek for "suffering"), and it was compiled in the mid-17th century by the Kievan Metropolitan Peter (Mogila), the developer of many liturgical forms. At first, passias were served widespread in the southern regions of Russia, but by the 20th century they were being served throughout.

The service of Passia occurs four times in the year (according to the number of evangelists): on the second, third, fourth, and fifth Sunday of Great Lent, in the evening. From its title it is clear that these services remember the salutary sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. A Gospel reading related to them is read at each passia: in the first, the 26th and 27th chapters of Matthew, in the second, the 14th and 15th of Mark, in the third, the 22nd and 23rd chapters of Luke, in the fourth, the 18th and 19th of John. According to tradition, the praying stand with lit candles in hand during the Gospel readings.

Besides this, we hear several touching chants from the services of Great and Holy Friday — the day of the Lord’s physical death. Thus, we hear the stichera "Come and worship Joseph eternally remembered…," which is sung during the kissing of Christ’s Shroud; before the reading of the Gospel we hear the prokimen, "They parted My garments among them, and upon My vesture did they cast lots…" These and other prayers carry us to Golgotha, again and again reminding us of the final goal of Lent — co-crucifixion with Christ.

During the Passia a sermon containing a lesson about Expiation is necessarily read. The early form of this service did not stipulate any parts, but the people’s piety added, to the Gospel and sermon, the akathist to Christ’s Cross or the Lord’s Passion, which is usually sung not only by the choir, but by all present. It is not surprising that Russian Orthodox Christians so love the Passia.

True, in certain circles the opinion exists that the Passia is of Catholic origin. Some find a similarity to the Catholic masses of Bach for the Passion week (the well-known "Passions of Matthew," "Passions of John"). This opinion is unfounded. On the contrary, the Metropolitan Peter compiled the order in contrast to the pomp of Catholic services, because of which many adherents of magnificence accepted the Unia (the union with the Roman-Catholic faith). The spirit of passia is completely Orthodox: the incidental similarity to Catholic services in form is dissolved by the deep spiritual and moral content.

"For, by its immensity, the divine substance surpasses every form that our intellect reaches. Thus we are unable to apprehend it by knowing what it is. Yet we are able to have some knowledge of it by knowing what it is not." - St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa contra gentiles, I, 14.

Yes, the West has their own iconographic tradition, but it was never exactly the same as the Eastern Roman tradition as far as I know. I'm referring to the theologically developed icons and all of their symbolism. It just seems as though the East developed and preserved a theologically tight, or even bulletproof standards for imagery, and now I keep seeing more and more firmly Eastern Orthodox icons being displayed in Western Roman churches. It just seems odd to me.

It would kind of be like if I started noticing statues of Mary and Joseph (as a young man) in all the Orthodox churches I went into, along with a giant crucifix above the altar. I would definitely pause and ask myself what was happening.

Like I said before, it's not as if I have a problem with Latin churches becoming more Orthodox in their ornamentation. But that's not typically what I see. What I do see are canonical Orthodox Catholic icons displayed amidst a cornucopia of other "decorations" that do not match the spirit and context that the icons convey. I wasn't saying the West has no precedent, but rather that they failed to maintain and develop that precedent and so to reintroduce something so foreign seems out of place.

Conquer evil men by your gentle kindness, and make zealous men wonder at your goodness. Put the lover of legality to shame by your compassion. With the afflicted be afflicted in mind. Love all men, but keep distant from all men.—St. Isaac of Syria

"For, by its immensity, the divine substance surpasses every form that our intellect reaches. Thus we are unable to apprehend it by knowing what it is. Yet we are able to have some knowledge of it by knowing what it is not." - St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa contra gentiles, I, 14.

"For, by its immensity, the divine substance surpasses every form that our intellect reaches. Thus we are unable to apprehend it by knowing what it is. Yet we are able to have some knowledge of it by knowing what it is not." - St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa contra gentiles, I, 14.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Who can watch the watchmen?"No one is paying attention to your post reports"Why do posters that claim to have me blocked keep sending me pms and responding to my posts? That makes no sense.